A Scots mum says her baby saved her life when pregnancy breathing difficulties led to a lung tumour being diagnosed.
Medics initially thought Danielle Beaton might have a blood clot when she was suffering from breathlessness and chest pain - symptoms which were exacerbated by her pregnancy.
The 27-year-old was brought in for a scan and astounded as medics discovered a tumour in her lung when she was 30-weeks along.
She credits her daughter Anna, now three, for saving her life as her symptoms may have gone unnoticed if she wasn't pregnant.
Doctors decided to wait six weeks after Danielle's diagnosis before beginning treatment to give Anna the best chance at being born healthy.
Little Anna was born at 36 weeks on May 18, 2018, by planned C-section but despite only being slightly premature, the youngster's lungs were underdeveloped and she had to be put on life support.
Danielle, from Forres in Moray, said: "I was having breathlessness and chest pain and doctors thought it might be a clot but they found a mass in my lung when I was 30-weeks.
"They didn't expect me to make it to full-term but decided to wait until Anna was born before treatment and it was decided I would get a section for Anna at 36-weeks.
“We weren't expecting Anna to be so poorly when she was born.
"She spent 12 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit and made a fast recovery. She was a fighter right from her very beginning.
"It was a very scary time for our little family with Anna being so poorly and the uncertainty of my health.
"She was a little miracle that saved my life, literally. If it wasn't for her the doctors wouldn't have found the tumour in my lung when they did.
“Being told I most likely had cancer and seeing my baby on life support was the worst day of my life. I will never forget it.
"The staff were aware of this and they did everything possible to comfort me, make sure I was ok and just let me cry it out to them, I will be forever grateful."
Danielle was diagnosed with a rare disease called Unicentric Castlemans Disease which affects the lymph nodes. The disease and the symptoms are very similar to cancer.
She has since underwent many treatments but surgery was sadly unsuccessful and her main hope now it to make the tumour dormant.
After two years of chemotherapy her tumours have made slight progression but she will need to have radiotherapy in the future as little Anna is now doing well after a full recovery.
She is hoping to raise awareness of the rare condition as well as early birth by sharing her story ahead of World Prematurity Day on November 17.
Danielle added: "I am doing okay and have learnt to live with the symptoms and continue to be the best mummy I can be for Anna.
"Some days are so much better than others, I get good days and bad days! Just can't ever give up.”
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